Compassion for the long haul

The diaspora of New Orleans is now depending on the kindness of strangers, and any fan of Tennessee Williams can see the great irony in that. But it also is a source of great inspiration.

The roiling national debate over the competency of government relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina has overshadowed a disaster recovery story that is far more uplifting.

From churches to community centers to your next-door neighbors, America has responded to the victims of Hurricane Katrina with an amazing show of generosity. Charities are awash in contributions. Homes have opened to evacuees. Clothes, food and medical help have poured in.

You've come through, and with enthusiasm. You didn't need to be asked twice.

There are countless such stories just around Chicago. We'll point to two of them.

Loyola University has enrolled 318 undergraduate and graduate students who were attending colleges that have been closed by the hurricane and flooding on the Gulf Coast. On the fly, the folks at Loyola have arranged for housing, classes, books, clothes and financial support. They have even distributed credit cards to some of the displaced students.

Who is going to pick up the tab? "We'll kind of worry about the financials later," said Loyola spokesperson Maeve Kiley. "We're adjusting. This is brand new territory for us."

The logistics may be brand new territory for Loyola. The compassion is not.

When the state opened a shuttered building at the Tinley Park Mental Health Center to house Gulf Coast victims, more than 2,000 local residents offered to help. Tinley Park Mayor Ed Zabrocki said no more help is needed right now. But don't go far away. He's telling prospective volunteers that they'll be called on in a month or two or three, "when the story is off the front pages."

And that goes right to one of the lingering concerns about the enormous need created by the Katrina disaster. It won't be resolved in a matter of days, or weeks or even months. There is, though, such a thing as compassion fatigue. When Katrina no longer dominates the newscasts and front pages, the victims will still need help. But who will be there, and how will the help be provided?

How will Loyola and other colleges pay to educate students if those students' schools are shuttered for months? If elementary schools must add classes or hire teachers to accommodate suddenly swelled enrollments, who will bear the cost? How long can the storm victims live in ad hoc accommodations? Where will they go if they have no permanent home?

Aside from the monumental questions about how New Orleans and the other Gulf communities will be rebuilt, there will be countless smaller questions, smaller decisions, for families across the country.

There will be more opportunities to help. Now and for a long time to come. So congratulations on a job well down. And don't get fatigued.